


you are the answer to my prayers

by hyekook



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Idol Verse, Just Cute Stuff, M/M, but it's not a major injury, injury is mentioned heavily and throughout the fic, so like? nothing to worry about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:34:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26442043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyekook/pseuds/hyekook
Summary: chan faces an unexpected injury and even mundane tasks are a challenge for him now.or that fic where jihoon helps shave chan's face.
Relationships: Lee Chan | Dino/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 96
Collections: A Sip of Summer Wine





	you are the answer to my prayers

**Author's Note:**

> really thankful for the chanfest mods for arranging a fest for our best boy!!! he really deserves more love and i'm sure this fest will bring forth many amazing fics. not mine, though, that is...... debatable. 
> 
> and although this fic follows the idol verse, i'm really not forcing feelings on anyone or any pairing, it's all fictional. and should be taken with a grain of salt.

lee chan is not aware of how he ended up in this situation, one moment he was swaying to the music, feet gliding across the floor, body moving to the rhythm, when he closed his eyes for a moment and the next thing he feels is his body falling, falling, falling, until it slams against the floor. hard and heavy.

chan’s ears ring with his rapid heartbeat, the floor cold against his warm cheek. ah, he groans to himself, what the fuck just happened. 

maybe chan momentarily blacked out, maybe he overcompensated on a dance move, maybe his soul simply left his body for a second, no matter the pain is very present as chan scrambles his injured self in a sitting position on the studio floor, gently cradling his right wrist to his chest. it doesn’t feel broken, twisted at the most. even the dim lights can’t hide the huge bruise slowly creeping to the surface of his skin, purple and blue hues paint his wrist.

chan raises his wrist to the light, slowly turning it this way and that. and sighs. 

chan’s not one to feel overwhelmed but he does feel quite shitty, really disappointed in himself for not taking care of himself enough. even if chan always stays late to practice more, he keeps himself hydrated and fed, taking care of his stretches and his routine. it’s very important to him that he works hard but doesn’t wear himself out, he’s more mature than that now. but these unexpected injuries just threw a massive wrench in his plans and he can’t even _imagine_ the amount of practice he’s going to be missing out on. 

he sighs, chan understands there’s nothing he can do about this situation sulking here. so he packs his duffel bag to the best of his ability using his left hand, turns off the lights, and makes his way towards his dorms under the bright, forgiving moon.

the moon bathes him in soft silver moonlight and says everything is going to be okay. 

/

the harsh fluorescent lights of his dorm bathroom makes him feel like he’s falling apart at the seams. there’s a slight purple bruise on his forehead from the harsh studio floor and the pain in his wrist only worsens as he shuffles around the bathroom for the first aid kit. he can’t seem to find it behind all the extra toiletries, makeup bags, and toilet paper they have stashed in the cabinets. 

the universe is simply not on chan’s side tonight. 

if the first aid kit is not here, it’s definitely still in the kitchen from the last time mingyu accidentally cut himself while preparing vegetables for dinner. and if it’s in the kitchen that means he has to somehow make it all the way from the bathroom to the kitchen without waking someone up or alerting someone who may already be awake. 

and there’s only one person in this house who’s ever up so late. 

/

chan easily makes his way to the kitchen, quickly locating the kit near the sink. he thanks any and every god or deity that exists as he tries to exit the kitchen without anyone detecting his presence, he is particularly glad that jihoon is nowhere to be seen.

but if he is nowhere to be seen that means he hasn't gotten home yet from the studio.

and that means... as soon as chan’s thoughts come to a conclusion, he hears the front door unlock and quietly shut in the muted silence of the living room. chan hears soft footsteps getting louder as they near him and then none. there are no footsteps. 

jihoon looks directly at him from above the open bar kitchen counter they have but he probably can't make out that it's actually chan, he turned off the lights in the kitchen as soon as he heard the front door.

"chan-ah," jihoon quietly whispers, "is that you?"

"no," chan terribly lies, dropping his voice lower than necessary, "it's mingyu."

jihoon snorts at his response, "did my wish finally come true and mingyu shrank six inches?"

"you’re exactly correct," chan replies hastily, blindly grabbing for the first aid kit on the counter and dashing out of the kitchen as soon as he holds it, "goodnight, hyung!" he calls over his shoulder and shuts himself in the bathroom.

/

chan has spent the past hour in the bathroom trying to fix himself to the best of his bruised self’s ability. he applied ointment on his forehead and bandaged that up with great agony. then he angrily brushed his teeth for ten minutes with his left hand, a skill he practiced from living with way too many boys in a cramped apartment, one bathroom to share and not enough time to get to the first schedule of the morning. 

but his wrist still throbs and he’s so dangerously close to passing out on the bathroom floor from sheer exhaustion. there’s a splint in the first aid kit from when seungkwan accidentally dislocated his wrist once and it should be able to ease most of the pain plus help him recover, immobilizing the wrist to quicken the recovery. but chan, for the life of him, can’t seem to wear it without needing to grow out another arm from his ass for extra help. 

momentarily something overcomes him, a slight flash of anger or maybe annoyance at his incompetence, and he curses loudly at the splint as if it’s the root cause of all evil in the world. he doesn’t even care at this point if someone busts down the bathroom door to know what’s going on, chan is simply tired to the bone. 

almost instantly after chan’s outburst, slight knocks rap against the wooden frame of the door.. 

"hey," jihoon’s voice is soft and muffled, "chan, can i come in?"

chan sighs. a headache blooming in the depths of his brain, torturing him from the inside out.

"yeah, hyung," his voice sounds tired to even his own ears, "it's unlocked."

/

jihoon takes one look at chan, before he wordlessly opens the first aid kit and starts moving around the bathroom. chan restlessly shuffles behind him to help him with the kit or bruises but one pointed gaze from jihoon has him sitting on top of the toilet cover as jihoon crowds around him. 

chan unknowingly shivers at jihoon’s fingers against his wrist and both of them instantly look at each other. god, chan thinks, it couldn’t get any more awkward than this. but jihoon chuckles so chan huffs out a breathy laugh as well.

"so.. why didn't you call any of us," jihoon softly asks, dabbing ointment onto his bruise, gentle fingers working against purple skin.

chan wants to whine about the pain but he doesn't. "umm, i didn't want to disturb anyone." 

which is true, if it happened during their morning practice and he had fallen in front of everyone, he probably would have let them help him, take him to the hospital even. but right now, the clock resting on the bathroom counter ticks three am and he doesn't want to be that whiny child anymore.

"always the mature and responsible one, huh," jihoon snorts, "vernon once spammed me with memes at four am because he had this amazing idea for a track and he thought my phone was on silent."

chan can't help the grin quietly tugging at the corners of his lips, "so what did you do?" he asks but he already knows. vernon tells him everything.

"nothing," and surprisingly, jihoon blushes at his own reply, as if admitting how much he cares for his members flusters him, "i just listened to him and went back to sleep."

"awww," chan retorts, finding the perfect opportunity to tease jihoon, "our sweetest hyung."

sensing the sarcasm, jihoon straightens up and glares at chan despite his rosy cheeks, "shut up!’’ he coughs to clear his voice,‘’i'm just saying that's what i'm here for. uh, we're here for. to help and guide you."

chan doesn’t mean to but he sighs before he replies with a quiet, "i know." 

jihoon rolls his eyes, "so act like it next time." 

he goes back to securing the splint around chan’s arm until it’s tightened enough that chan can still be able to move his wrist without causing any extra pain. 

/

‘’hyung, since you’re here..’’ chan hesitates, ‘’can i ask for another favour?’’ 

jihoon quirks an eyebrow as he places the ointment back into the first aid kit, clicking it shut before turning back towards chan, arms crossed against his chest. ‘’what’s up?’’

‘’uh.. can you help me shave my face..’’ chan’s voice gets softer as he completes his sentence. he looks at jihoon who simply can’t help the devilish smile on his face no matter how much he purses his lips. 

‘’why?’’ jihoon hums, looking very accomplished and _very_ annoying as he grins, ‘’we don’t have a schedule tomorrow, i think you’ll be fine.’’ 

chan feels the tiny, _tiny_ hair poking his fingers as he rubs his chin with his left hand, this entire conversation makes him feel awkward and he particularly _hates_ proving his hyungs right, giving them something to tease him about. but he knows he won’t be able to sleep if he doesn’t shave. 

‘’i just don’t like stubble. it rubs against the pillow all wrong,’’ and chan shivers as if he’s experiencing the sensation right now, right here, in the bathroom. ‘’makes it hard to sleep.’’ 

jihoon wants to refuse, there are better things he could be doing with his time, like chugging an entire bottle of coke and crashing on his bed sometime around dawn. but he looks at chan right in front of him, knows his persistent nature better than he knows himself, and he doesn’t want to leave him struggling just like he was before jihoon came. so he grumbles out a quiet agreement and moves away to collect chan’s shaving stuff. behind him, chan softly giggles as if this is the best thing to come out of tonight. might be, considering the sprained wrist and everything. 

/

jihoon’s hands are cold from where they rub the shaving cream onto chan's chin, chan hissing at the contact as jihoon merely chuckles at his annoyance, mischief lurking in the depth of his eyes.

chan really wants to roll his eyes but he doesn’t want jihoon to leave, and he’s being so nice as well. so chan contains his annoyance, locks it somewhere deep in his mind, and finds himself entering a state of zen. a state he usually retreats to where the members are rowdy in front of the cameras and he gives them three more minutes before _bang_ chan appears to continue the broadcast as planned.

the air between them is quiet. all chan hears is the sound of the electric razor whirring to life as jihoon plugs it in and his soft breathing. chan doesn’t find the silence uncomfortable, he knows that jihoon doesn’t always want to talk, so chan doesn’t push it. he stays quiet, mind full of thoughts but also not.

only a few seconds later, jihoon starts singing softly. most of the melody is drowned out by the razor and chan can’t help staring at jihoon as he sings, who is completely focused on chan’s chin, making sure he doesn’t cut him somehow. chan notices how relaxed jihoon’s jaw is as he sings, the way his mouth opens wide around vowels for a brighter sound, technical things he knows no one else but him would be noticing. it’s his fault for always trying to find new ways to improve his own technique.

it’s a song chan hasn't heard before but he figures out the harmony quick enough, low hums never leaving the warmth of his mouth. and jihoon is smiling even though the song is so sad. almost bittersweet.

"something new you're working on, hyung?" chan asks when jihoon fully turns towards the sink to clean the razor.

"nope," jihoon replies easily, "just a cover."

"your voice is really pretty, hyung," chan can see jihoons eyes widen in the mirror, and he knows this entire time, he has been respecting jihoon’s comfort zone, never pushing too much. but seeing the way jihoon reacts to his words, chan wants to push. just a little more. he wants jihoon to _know_.

"looking at you up close, you're really pretty, hyung." chan notices the blush creeping up jihoons neck and he smiles cheekily.

when jihoon turns back towards chan to return his razor, he realizes that everything chan said was simply whatever he believed was the truth. no mischief, no tricks. his face was blank and honest, as if jihoon asked him to repeat those words again, he would. every single day. because that's just what he believed in.

ah, fuck. jihoon has to go.

/ 

the next day jihoon posts the cover and chan thinks his voice sounded better in the bathroom, softer, sweeter like a secret only they shared.

/

the harsh fluorescent bathroom lights beat down on chan as he stands in front of the mirror, sighing. he does not know why his legs decided to lead him here but his brain refuses to sleep at this witching hour. a mix of pent up energy from all the resting he’s been doing since his injury and a desire to make sense of his internal turmoil. 

feelings and words tangle into a mess in chan’s brain and he can almost comprehend what they mean. what his mind is trying to tell him in the matters of his heart. and maybe chan could have found the epiphany he was searching for, if it weren’t for the soft knocks against the bathroom door. 

upon finding the door unlocked, the intruder simply opens it.

‘’hey,’’ jihoon says, sticking his head in through the bathroom door, his fringe is wet and he’s ruffling his hair dry with a grey towel. chan thinks how he probably took a shower in his en-suite bathroom before coming here. ‘’saw you come in here an hour ago and you never left.’’ 

chan hums, thinks about jihoon quietly creeping to his room to check up on him only to find an empty bed. ‘’just thinking.’’ chan replies softly. 

‘’well, can you think somewhere else,’’ jihoon closes the door behind him as he finally enters the bathroom. ‘’it’s kinda stuffy in here.’’ chan shuffles backwards to accommodate jihoon, he does not even wait for chan’s permission to come in, and only proceeds to shuffle closer to him. 

chan doesn’t reply and jihoon sets his towel down somewhere, shuffling around chan to rummage through the cabinets. when he turns towards chan again, he’s holding his electrical razor and shaving cream. 

he has that annoying grin on his face again, ‘’want me to shave your face?’’

chan wants to scoff and refuse. there is stubble on his chin but he isn’t in that overly anxious state like on the night of his injury where he was aware of every body part that throbbed, how clothes touched his skin wrong sending a jolt of shivers above his spine, how the prickly hair on his chin made his fingers curl into themself from the discomfort. 

but he looked at jihoon who had come here out of his own will because he was concerned and wanted to help chan to the best of his abilities. there was something tender in the way jihoon was looking at him right now, like he knew everything that was going on chan’s mind but gave him his own space to freely move around. 

chan finally replies with a soft agreement and jihoon gets right into it.

jihoon’s fingers are just as cold as the last time he rubbed the shaving foam onto chan’s face. or maybe chan’s running way too warm right now. small space. close proximity. he tries to look anywhere but the tuffle of soft black hair moving under his chin, and the sharp eyes working with dedication, or the pretty rosy lips pressed in a pout. ok, maybe chan did stare just a _little_ bit.

the seconds drag between them and jihoon’s eyes finally flicker upwards, all done with the shaving cream. ‘’so. what were you thinking about?’’ 

chan stills to reply and he can almost feel jihoon’s fingers accidentally graze his lips whilst retracting his hand. chan wills his blush to die down before it creeps up to his cheeks. ‘’you know.. just this and that.’’ 

jihoon quirks an eyebrow, ‘’your injury?’’ he nods toward chan’s wrist wrapped in elastic bandages. 

the splint had come off after the first two days, the doctor instead opting for bandages as a much easier protective measure. and chan is totally okay with that, at least he can move his arm more without the splint. not that he should be moving his arm at all, as his hyungs keep reminding him every day. 

‘’yeah, i guess i realized this _really_ gave me a reason to rest,’’ chan replied, ‘’before that, even on days we were supposed to rest i was planning for something or the other, another danceology or something for carats.’’ 

jihoon hums as he shaves chan’s face, careful with the way chan talks animatedly so he doesn’t accidentally cut him. ‘’so you’ve finally learnt what it means to take a break?’’ jihoon teases. 

above him, chan rolls his eyes. ‘’well, it’s not like you’re any better than me, hyung-nim.’’

jihoon snorts, ‘’touché.’’ 

chan tries to bite down his grin for the sake of jihoon, and for the sake of not going to bed with any new injuries. 

‘’hmm,’’ chan begins again, trying to word his thoughts as nicely as he can, ‘’i suppose this unexpected injury has slowed down my life a bit? but not in a bad way.’’

chan takes a moment to find the words and jihoon only hums as waits for chan. the air between them is warm and tangible, time doesn’t feel real as chan stares back at jihoon who only looks at him with fondness. time never feels real with jihoon, chan thinks, but those are thoughts for another day.

‘’it’s like, before i knew my body could take it so i always had an all or nothing behaviour, always pushing myself to do one thing or another, passion being my only answer..’’

‘’now you _know_ your body needs to heal, so you’re just taking one day at a time?’’ jihoon finishes for him, his eyes roaming over chan’s face before he finally stares back into the brown orbs.

‘’yeah,’’ chan breathes, the corners of his lips stretching into a small grin. ‘’it’s like you’ve read my mind, hyung.’’ 

jihoon flushes red and goes back to shaving chan’s face. 

/

chan settles down after that, and jihoon only has a couple of minutes left before he finishes. he’s sure chan won’t need him to wash his face so really, _really_ jihoon should not notice the way chan twiddles his thumbs as if he still has something left to say. or the way his gaze falls on jihoon and falls away just as easily, as if indecisiveness clouds his mind. 

and really, if jihoon wants to go to sleep early tonight, he should leave right now. but jihoon notices his restless feet and he can’t help but sigh. oh why, _why_ is he like this. 

"something still on your mind?" jihoon gently pokes chan's cheek.

"yeah." chan grins, "i have been thinking about how we have the perfect height difference for me to give you a forehead kiss."

jihoon's face is expressionless as he takes in chan's words but internally he's going insane. he should have left when he had the chance. he blinks a couple of times and opens his mouth to speak but shuts it instantly when he sees chan lower himself.

and like a whisper, chan's lips are gentle and soft against jihoon's warm skin. the kiss is fleeting, a tiny peck, chan retracting himself quickly, the same shit eating grin on his face.

"so this is all that has been occupying your mind since i started shaving your face?" jihoon snorts, trying to avoid the way he can physically feel his cheeks redden.

"yep," chan replies easily.

"and the injury thing?" jihoon quirks an eyebrow.

"flawlessly bulshitted my way through that."

jihoon snorts, "you're such a loser." and before chan can reply with anything else that could leave jihoon stunned, he reaches up to press a small kiss at the corner of his mouth.

he has always liked the corners of chan’s mouth. chan only blinks, his face extremely devoid of any emotion besides the rosy flush on the apples of his cheeks. 

‘’what are you doing after this?’’ chan questions.

‘’i’m going to sleep?’’ jihoon replies hesitatingly, not sure where chan is leading with this. 

‘’no. _we_ ’re going to sleep.’’ he states and jihoon can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of his chest, full and hearty. 

‘’shut up, you haven’t even properly confessed and you’re being like this.’’ 

chan wipes his face clean with a wet towel and let’s jihoon hold onto the sleeve of his sweater, an unconscious habit, as he moves out of the bathroom. 

‘’well, obviously, i wasn’t going to confess in a stuffy bathroom.’’ 

jihoon raises his eyebrows, ‘’should i be wooed?’’ 

‘’not yet,’’ chan clicks his tongue, ‘’we have no schedules tomorrow.’’

‘’i am aware,’’ jihoon hums, they’re both standing in front of his bedroom door, voices barely whispering.

‘’so let’s go on a date.’’ chan replies and jihoon notices chan’s eyes glint even in the dimmest eyes, sparkly in a way that makes jihoon envious. 

‘’hmm,’’ jihoon pretends to think about it before taking chan’s non-injured hand into his and tugs him inside his bedroom. mingyu sleeps like a rock anyway. ‘’only if you turn out to be a good cuddler.’’ 

and, well, chan is good at anything he sets his mind to. 

/

**Author's Note:**

> can u tell this is my first time writing chanhoon.. i hope to write more for them tho so please do lmk if u like this one!!!


End file.
